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Q&A with Mark Duplass

Mark Duplass may one of the hardest working men in Hollywood. Not only is he one of the stars of FX’s hit series The League, he’s also a talented writer, producer, and director. Mark’s face will be popular on the independent film circuit with summer with roles in four films. In one of the films, Your Sister’s Sister, Mark plays a lead role alongside Emily Blunt.

Mark took a few minutes to talk to me about coming up with the story for Your Sister’s Sister, working with Emily Blunt, and battling summer blockbusters.

You’re in a lot of movies this summer. How does that feel?

Mark Duplass: It’s not terrible, it’s better than being ignored.

I was read somewhere that you came up with the idea for Your Sister’s Sister.

MD: My brother and I are filmmakers and we have a lot of story ideas we think about making. This was one we liked, but felt we wouldn’t want to direct. I brought it toLynn (Shelton) and she really liked the idea. We had a partnership making Humpday years earlier and that really worked out. We thought we would try to make another movie like Humpday but maybe up it a little bit. Maybe bring some really movie stars into the fold and shoot it on this beautiful island in the San Juans. It kind of came together pretty quickly.

When I interviewed Lynn she talked about doing a lot of improv directing. Do you feel like you work best that way?

MD: I can work either way, and I kind of like both processes. If somebody has a rock solid script that they spent years writing, that was the case with Safety Not Guaranteed, I’m happy to stick to the script. If the script is thrown together quickly or the treatment is thrown together quickly, it really benefits improvisation because you can find the great stuff right there in the moment.

Your Sister’s Sister struck a cord with me because I lost my brother. That opening scene where Jack talks about his brother at the memorial was real. My brother’s friends wanted to get together for a memorial and I just didn’t go.

MD: I completely understand. There’s something about memorials and the way the people eulogize people that is somewhat false sometimes. They just want to praise them but when you know someone intimately, you don’t want any lies to be told about them.

How was working with an actress like Emily Blunt?

MD: Emily is great. For a big movie star, she’s incredibly down to earth and easy to be with. She’s very good and the improvisation. It’s a special skill set because you have to be natural and you have to be mindful of moving the story forward. You can’t just be coming up with jokes because you’re almost writing the script in the moment. [Emily] is not only great at that, we also share the same sense of humor so we had good natural chemistry.

Did you identify with your character in the film?

MD: I don’t in that I’m a highly driven person. I won’t let anything stand in my way [laughs]. This event has really gotten Jack off of his life course. He’s in this kind of slacker phase. What’s interesting is as different as am from Jack, the rhythms of the way Jack speaks, the cadences, and the laughter is very much me. When you’re improvising, your natural personality kind of just comes out. It’s almost like a shaggier, much more screwed up version of myself.

The way the film is set, we only get a slice of where Jack is at this point. We never see what he was like before his brother’s death. We get him in this dark place.

MD: In my opinion, Jack kind of had it together. He just got derailed by the death of his brother. His journey is to try and get back on to his feet. He’s a good dude, he has a good heart, and he’s just all screwed up.

It’s tough having the film open up during this blockbuster summer. Do you think it’s going to get overlooked?

MD: Anytime you’re bringing out a small movie like this, you don’t have the money behind it to promote it and buy all the TV ads or big billboards to get people into the theater immediately. You’re relying on word of mouth. I’ve been a part of so many independent films during this stage of my career. Certain ones you think are going to break out and they don’t. Certain ones you think aren’t, and they do. I’m of the opinion that nobody knows anything about his business [Laughs]. You never really know what’s going to click. The most important thing is we got to make great piece of art with people we love, and we’re really proud of it. If it hits in the movie theater, awesome. If it doesn’t, it will certainly find its way on DVD, on Video on Demand, and TV as well. I made the Puff Chair in 2005 that had total box office of $250,000. Since then, its had a life on DVD. Millions of people have seen it. Either way the films going to have a great life.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.